It was a foul night.
Autumn had descended on Paris with a vengeance. The air was bitterly cold, transformed into strong gales that stripped the trees of their remaining copper coloured leaves, sending them twisting and turning with force. It was raining now, the fat drops pelting against the windows and dripping down the panes. The streetlights put up a valiant effort but seemed diluted in the cloudy inky black night.
It was Halloween and it showed. In the dinky apartment, it was lit by the low flickering light of cinnamon scented candles. Angelic fairy lights were wrapped around the curtain poles and soft jazz was playing from unseen speakers. There was a bottle of red wine, almost empty, on the table, glinting in the soft glow. It'd be all very romantic, had she not been handling a blade.
The curtains were open and the rain soaked Parisian light came trickling through. Resting on the newspaper covered table were two fat, brightly orange and lopsided pumpkins. Florence's long blonde hair was tied up into a ponytail and on her head sat a pair of sparkling jet black cat ears and she offered her husband a goofy grin.
It was time like these that their cultural differences became apparent. As far as things went, the French weren't overly mad on Halloween but she was. She loved it. For her, it was the culmination of all things autumnal. From the cold nights to roaring fires to spooky tales. She imagined it was a bit of a confusing ordeal for Arkadiy.
"Okay," she said gently as she scooped out the stringy, mushy innards of her gourd with care before wiping her hands on a cloth. "I know this seems weird," she told her husband as she picked up her knife. "But there's a reason why people carve pumpkins on Halloween. Story goes, once upon a time, there was a drunk guy called Stingy Jack," she replied, flicking her eyes up to Arkasha's with a smile. "One night, he asks the devil to come and have a drink with him and for some reason, he agrees. When the bill came, there was a bit of an awkward moment. Jack thought the devil was going to pay and vice versa. Jack, having spent all of his money on booze, convinced the devil to change himself into a coin so he could pay the barman. The devil fell for it so Jack skipped on the bill and kept the devil at bay by slipping the coin into his pocket, next to a silver cross."
As Florence spoke, she moved the knife across the pumpkin with dexterous care and skill. It was like she'd handled a blade before. Her fingers delicately picked out chunks of cut pumpkin and rested them on the side. "Eventually, Jack let the devil out, providing he wouldn't come and find him for a period of ten years. When his time was up, the devil came back," she explained as she moved her wrist in precise slicing motions. "The devil was clearly a bit silly as Jack convinced him to climb a tree and get him an apple. While the devil was up the tree, Jack carved a cross into the trunk, leaving him trapped once more. Wine?" With that, she topped up the glasses.
"Jack must have felt bad because he let the devil down, providing he'd never claim his soul for Hell. Years later, when Jack died, he was rejected from Heaven, on account of his dubious dealings. The devil wouldn't and couldn't take him into Hell, due to the agreement in the tree. So, in the end, Jack was given a lump of coal to light his way through purgatory and he carried it in a hollowed out turnip. How a turnip became a pumpkin, I dunno," she admitted with a shrug.
"So, people started carving their own turnips and putting them on windowsills and doorways to scare away and ward off any spirits. Tada," with that, she turned her pumpkin around to face Arkadiy. Florence had carved a fairytale scene onto her pumpkin as she dropped in a candle to light it. There were long and curved trees, a clear path running up the pumpkin, flanked by woodland creatures and a big moon, which exposed the most light. It looked like a traditional spooky night scene that all children were familiar with.
Looking up, she offered him another grin. "Does that sort of explain things a little more?" She asked with a smile as she tilted her head, her cat ear headband catching the light and twinkling. Absently, she picked up a marshmallow and began to toast it over the candle's flame. "Trick or treat's a bit weird," she added with a frown. "Basically, when the year end and another begins, people think they overlap so demons can walk the earth. By dressing up, any demons you see will think you’re one of them, so you're safe."
Just then, there was a knock at the door and the cry of
trick or treat! echoed through the apartment. Florence grinned again. "Shall we pretend that we aren't home?"
@Arkadiy Malenkov